Hi every one..i will be having a little break from the bloggies this week
I have so much to do here at the moment…the storm that came through left a mess..nothing drastic but a fair bit of yard cleaning to do.
As hubby in the SES he was busy on call with trees down callouts..which he is happy to do but it does leave me here to pick up the slack.

I have been organising my studifous (study/office) and wrestling pictures..these took a day to transfer to the new computer..25,550 in all.

I also had some trouble with a package subscription to Lightroom and photoshop that i paid for..went around in circles until 1am last night trying to get a redemption code to access Lightroom..nearly lost my tiny mind!
Seems in hubbies tired state that when he did it he forgot something..all good the guy at Adobe was super helpful and now it is sorted.
However i need to cull these pictures..and get them better organised.

I am so hectic i don’t even think i will be entering the pie comp this year..so that has me a bit down, but time is running away from me!

I have tried and think i have replied to comments but have had no time to comment on anyones blogs..this makes me feel awful!

I am not the most tech savvy person so arranging my new computer has been a real test.
The thing is the doggies have been patiently watching me and i feel like i have not spent enough time with them either..they are getting old and i need to really spend this time with them..and the girls have been acting up as i have been busy on these things.

So i have to take myself off for awhile..finish sorting this room,my files,my yard..i need to play with the pups go for more walkies and i need more snuggling with the girls..

I had email issues too which means i have missed some emails from my bloggie friends..i have replied and hope that there are not more i have missed..the emails i was having trouble with still exist on my old computer and i just happened to spot them..so my email addy is the same except it is bigpond.com not outlook.com as the last part..

Well i will be back soon guys.i feel truly awful..so many blogs to read and catch up on..but i just have found myself in knots here..as soon as i get my things sorted i will be back on..reading your amazing blogs,looking at your fab pics,laughing with you at your crazy pets and just chatting with great friends.

Hi guys..well what a month it has been..we have been running a revolving door to the vets with Dinnermintz,Pickles,Marbles,Forrest and then Doc..
To say between this and yard work and Christmas preparation I am tired is an understatement.
Hubby has at the same time been working ridiculous hours some days 21 hours and travelling interstate to the point that neither of us remember where he is at times…sheesh. I think he is in Sydney…I think..

We are having the family up a week before Christmas and so if you think you are behind…then it’s ok..i am even more behind hahaha 🙂

The weather has been odd, we had some really stinky hot days then back to the heater..now it is warming up again and quite humid at night..great when you have internal combustion giving you trouble at the best of times.
The garden needs a pruning again as things have grown like mad, my tomatoes are coming along really well and once we can fence the whole part off from the pups the other beds will be planted out with Zucchinis (I love the flowers stuffed) ,cantaloupe, capsicums,chillies,peas,lettuce,corn,pumpkin,squash,spaghetti squash and a heap of other goodies…my greatest joy is to get my hands in the soil.

My camera decided to have a little hissy fit the other night…and I have to get it to the camera shop to be looked at..it seems ok but there is clearly something up with it..since it is my lifeline to sanity I was a tad unimpressed to say the least..i almost went into a panic mode..
But I had words with it and took it out and managed to calm my farm with some shots outside..nature..i thank you ..you always remind me my problems are smaller than they really seem..
Have a great day everyone..i need sleep…flying solo with 4 cats and 2 dogs and 3 sheep and 11 acres of scrub is weighing heavily on my mojo:)

A backyard visitor..a new species too number 51!

A Cockatoo having a cheeky drink from the sheeps water

At a good 9 foot tall now I was so excited to see a pink Hollyhock make an appearance

There are days I wish I was a million miles away..nothing bad is happening …no real reason..just the day and the mood.

I wonder how honest most people are with themselves….or others…

The reason for the mood this morning is really nothing..that’s right..just woke up and thought urghhh.

Some days I don’t really feel like I am in the zone…I am sure some peeps will think I am complaining and really i’m not..i just pondered as I replaced the kitty litter trays for the second time..and cleaned a patch of pee that one of the girls had left on the bedroom carpet.. just how many of us have those days.

The usual shenanigans at brekkie time.. watching Dinnermintz doesn’t eat what Pickles has left because she is off her food, being barked at for not hurrying with the morning meal…stopping Marbles smacking Cleo because she has woken in a mood too.

The fires out again…cleaning up the ash and dragging more wood in has no allure this morning.. if I don’t, despite the day being warm, it will be cold in here tonight.

Forrest wants to go out the front.. he is not allowed.. he digs up my garden looking for kitty nuggets..so I let him out the back.. meanwhile a baby bunny is running around in the front yard..so off to scare him off.. come back in Forrest is barking…he wants in..again..

I go to make the bed.. i forget the cat bowl was out and Dinnermintz on a diet decides she will go for it..

I hear her collar on the bowl and bolt out and put it away.

Forrest barks.. he wants out..again..i feel like a “door bitch” as they call them at clubs.. opening closing doors all day.

Back to making the bed…which hurts my back due to weeding yesterday on rough stones…awesome.

Phone rings.. telemarketer.. ah…no.. dishes done.. the Pickles has decided she wants her food so out with the bowl again.. while Dinnermintz keeps vigil..so I stand and wait.

She eats a bit..i put her bowl away again.. Forrest barks.. he wants in.. again…I let him in..someone has just used the trays..so another tray change..

Dishes now…from the brekky I could not eat in peace..one cat wanting to push into my plate and steal my toast..one dog wanting out..one cat trying to start a blue with another one..

A load of washing out…one in ..rubbish emptied.. ready to go in the bin…

Forrest wants out…………..again………….the fire is well and truly out…need to go gather some kindling….keeping an eye out for snakes.. and then clean the firebox and start a fire.. big wood is in the trailer right at the back…means pulling the smaller pieces forward and that is great on the back too.

The shower and both bathrooms need cleaning. floors need sweeping and vaccuming..

Forrest is in again…and asleep now…..thankyou….

Quick phone call to mum.. she is busy…quick phone call with my sister.. she is in the same mood..

I have more weeding to do..i just can’t find the mojo.. but I will..

When people say how lovely we have all this land I agree.. but some days it seems an impossible task to get everything done .Phil got most of the snake mesh stapled to the outside of the back fence yesterday.. we hear the burn off restrictions may come in in October…sheesh..

Great Forrest wants out.. and I can smell the litter tray..again…

I love my life..i love my animals and my home but today…all i can think of is running away..to a place where there are no litter trays.. where I can eat a meal without interruptions ..where if open a door it is because I am heading out to have some fun….anyone who has not had children I can tell you this is what it is like to be a parent.. the commitment the time the sometimes mundane and monotonous the routine of life with pets is just the same.

I wonder how many pet owners will be disgusted with my attitude today? I wonder how many pet owners will fess up and admit there are days they are tired.. days they think it is all too hard.

I will never regret having pets and I know I have made a promise to them for life..i am happy to go without and to sacrifice for them..my choice.. and I adore them.. but some days I wish I was a million miles away.. and I know if I was I would miss them and pine for them and want to be with them.

For today I am here.. and I just have to get on with it.. tomorrow is a new day…

On the 26 th of this month we had been here in our new home for 3 years..boy the work we have done…a ten year old house with fencing along the boundaries and that was about it..so a lot of fencing and paddocks needed to be sorted.

The biggest challenge has been the realisation that the wildlife is closer than we anticipated..so keeping the wild/domestic harmony became very important..Forrest being bitten by an Eastern Brown Snake http://www.avru.org/general/general_eastbrown.html sealed the deal…this was top priority.

Now we decided to totally enclose the back of the house yard..the fencing was not enough to stop Forrest if he wanted to leap over after a roo and the snakeproofing proved inadequate. Considering it nearly did Phil in doing the original house yard fence we were well aware of the work involved

We have 11 acres but we still wanted to have an area that we could enjoy with the pups and without losing the sunsets..we came up with the idea of ‘windows’ in the fence..we thought of stained glass but the trees everywhere proved to be problematic..so we decided on Perspex..

Of course all good ideas involve hard work and loads of cash…so it has taken a long time to get to this point…it has required ridiculous man hours (hubbies) relying on good weather and many post holes in basically concrete ground..which along the back needed a man with a rig that had a huge posthole attachment..which still lifted off the ground..

Every fence paling (and all the gates which are fence paling also for a seamless look)..have been screwed on by hubby…what a guy…this has nearly killed him…talk about hard work..the yard is still a dump zone as we have to now start the clean up…but the yard is done..some snakewire on the outside…and all over….we are then moving on to making the catio out the back..this will be a lot easier..less pain I am sure..we will have a doggy door soon to put in the laundry door and the pups can then be outside when we go out and can go in to their beds inside in the laundry if they want..

Outside they have a large covered verandah and their outside beds…water etc..3 years we have not been able to leave the house for more than a few hours as we have had them inside for their safety…so it will be lovely to go out and have a life…without worrying that they are locked in the house.It’s different with the girls they can wander the house inside for hours…but not the boys..i am pretty sure my couch would be eaten!

The catio will have access from the main bathroom to the outside..this means the girls can come and go day and night..in summer a real bonus…we plan on hanging an old wooden ladder from the rafters of the verandah with chains..and I will make hammocks on the rungs..so the girls will love this I am sure….there is a lot of work in keeping the pets and wildlife safe..and we are just glad we have finished before Summer..

So then then the gardens will be fixed up.. with an enclosed area in the corner for my veggie garden..which i have sadly missed..but landscaping is kind of the last thing after practicality..

So after who knows how many hours and about 4 thousand dollars later ( and that was after i spotted a whole load of really cheap palings ..made a big difference believe it or not) ta da…the safe pet backyard…still messy but hey that will be easy to fix 🙂

I may be absent a bit soon as the yard needs a lot of work..the scrub needs burning off before Summer and my poor garden out front is trashed from frost..i will try and pop in as I can…I will never catch up I am sure but needs must and this lovely property is a lot of work this time of year..

Tomorrow is Mother’s day…it can be a day of mixed emotions ..some miss their mums as they are no longer with them….some may not yet have realised the importance of mum’s …some may not speak to their mums ..for me it’s about the role of mothering…in all it’s forms…this means many women ‘mother’ and yet have no children…

Mothering to me is nurturing and caring above and beyond and when nobody else will do!

So this may mean caring and nurturing a precious pet…a friend…a family member…

I have been very blessed to have four children…my mothering skills I learnt as I went..with my kids….you see my mum had many problems and as such was not the mentor or nurturer I needed..and yet she was ..as I learnt to make my own rules up about mothering and what it meant.

I love my mum and I know that she did her best and as all mums has had her fails and wins….but I am here I am in one piece and I have made a life I love so for that I will always be grateful.

I just want people to think about the nurturers in their world..the women who love and care and go above and beyond..they may not have given birth but does this lessen their mothering love they give.

Happy Mothers Day mum..and to all of you ‘mums’ out there I hope you know you are appreciated for the care love and nurturing selflessness you have.

Excuse the pics as they are old and scanned 🙂

My mum two years before I came along at the age of 22

My first mothering was for my pet galah Cliffy

Pregnant with my first baby and holding my other baby Chocko

Soon the first turns two and you are Pregnant again!

The cakes….always I was baking crazy birthday cakes

Number two Rhiannon..already mothering a calf

And again with the cakes…

There are accidents too which test your mothering..

Then two kids become four!!

And then life really gets busy

And time marches on

The cakes keep coming

Mums resort to barriers

Watching them form their own relationships

And the cakes keep coming…

Mums resort to anything for a break

The last two to start school..and it killed me..

And then one day you look at a picture from long ago and think….what on earth where we all thinking!